by Fr Raymond Raj
Jeremiah 17:5-8
Psalm 1:1-4,6
1 Corinthians 15:12,16-20
Luke 6:17,20-26
Theme: Trust in God
In the words of Saint Augustine:
God has one Son on earth without sin.
God has only one Son on earth without sin. But never one without suffering.
Brothers and sisters, suffering is a mystery because suffering turns our heart towards God. Speaking of suffering, a little story comes to my mind.
John is a devout Catholic. John has a beautiful wife and three grown up children. Because of a major car accident, John fractured his brain and the doctor told him, ‘John, you don’t have much time left. My advice to you is please as soon as possible write in your last will because, John, you are going to die. Please write your will.
So on his dying bed, John’s wife approached him and said, ‘Darling, I am aware that you are dying. Very soon, darling, you will be gone away from us. Therefore, I hope you have written your last will.
Darling, I pray and hope that this beautiful house will be written under my name. I hope your BMW 5 Series will be given to our eldest son. Darling, I pray and hope all your share market, all your savings, will be written for our second daughter. And darling, I hope your business company will be given to our daughter-in-law.’
As the wife was sharing all her hopes and dreams, the husband got angry, jumped out from the bed and shouted, ‘Who is dying? You or me?’
Brothers and sisters in the Lord, everyone is afraid of death. Everyone! Because death involves suffering. There is no expert here on how to die. There is no book written on how to die. Everyone here regardless of our age we are afraid of death. Period.
My dear friends, generally speaking, suffering can make us a bitter person. In the midst of suffering, there is always a tendency to say things that we shall regret.
In today’s Gospel, Jesus hands down a new set of teaching to his disciples. Jesus says:
Happy are you when people abuse you.
Happy are you when people denounce you.
Happy are you when people torture you,
Because your rewards will be great in heaven.
I suppose, my dear friends, as I read this verse again and again, Jesus is telling us if you want to be happy, you must suffer. If you want to be happy in life, you must suffer. So I am going to ask all of you a question today.
In your opinion, in your experience (I see a lot of senior Catholics here), do you think suffering can make a person happy? Do you think suffering can make a person happy? Yes or no? Yes? Who said yes? I want to see the face. Praise the Lord! God will bless you abundantly.
My dear friends, according to the world’s standard, according to the secular standard, a happy person does not suffer. But according to the standard of religion, a happy person must suffer. And I suppose the dichotomy between these two teachings are quite rigid for any human brain to apprehend.
When Jesus says happy when you are poor, hungry and persecuted, Jesus is not saying stay poor forever and ever. Jesus is not saying stay hunger forever and ever. Jesus is not saying stay persecuted forever and ever. No!
What Jesus really meant is suffering is an evidence of our union with God. Which means, you and I are united with God as we experience suffering. You and I, we are united with God as we experience suffering.
Brothers and sisters in the Lord, remember this point always. Suffering is not outside the will of God. In fact, suffering is also God’s will in the work of redemption.
So my dear friends, happiness is not simply a good feeling that will fade away after a while. Happiness is a union with God, a union that is unbreakable.
When we go through suffering, abuse and persecution, God’s presence become real. We begin to long for God more and more. And as a priest, I believe the blueprint of happiness is not happiness in itself. But happiness simply means you and I, we are willing to suffer for His glory.
Of course all these is easier said than done but the best part of today’s Gospel is the promise, the assurance of Jesus. When the day comes, your reward will be great in heaven.
Yes, my dear friends, all our sufferings on this planet earth will be paid full in our next life. And I leave you with this verse over the weekend to ponder:
The only place in this world where there is no suffering, the only place where there is no abuse, persecution, torture and suffering is inside the grave.
Amen.
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